Indignation
by OnnaMusha
Summary: The awaited day had finally come, but instead of being excited as when he got the letter, he was becoming more and more unsure. He was faced by two hard choices. What would be his decision? Chapter 2 updated!
1. Vision

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Fatal Fame series, they belong to Tecmo  
>AN: Set before the events in Fatal Frame III, perhaps slight AU in later chapters  
>Summary: Kaname Ototsuki, a young man which was offered a chance to study with a well-known occultist Dr. Kunihiko Asou in the city. Will he keep his promise to his lover, or will he leave her?<strong>

A beautiful afternoon. The golden sun hung in the west horizon, almost sank completely into the other side of the world. Almost everybody have returned into their own houses. Only a young couple was left, spending the rest of the day together beneath a sakura tree. The woman tensed. Her resting head returned into a normal sitting position from her lover's shoulder. A mixture of surprised and worried expression sprouted on her face.

"What? Study in the city?" She asked. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes my dear. A famous occult master, the folklorist named Dr. Kunihiko Asou had offered me to study with him. I'm really interested in his field of study, and it's a great opportunity to develop myself as well as taking part in his interesting researches!" The man's lips formed a smile and his ebony eyes glowed as a tone of excitement was heard in his voice.

His lover clad in purple floral kimono with smiled a bit, but then her smile was wiped off her face, replaced by a streak of disappointment which bent her head low. "But Kaname, you promised me before! I thought… I thought…" Her words became so shaken of her tries to prevent drops of tears from running down to her cheek.

"Reika? Are you alright?" His excited expression had transformed into worry. _Did I say something wrong?_ He thought. Gently he placed his hands surrounding each of Reika's arms to comfort her and waited for a response. She didn't say a word. Didn't she want her lover to go studying? Was she afraid of being left alone and forgotten? A glimpse of realization suddenly came into his mind, reminding him of a promise, a vow he had sworn to her at the same place they're sitting right now- beneath a blooming sakura tree which was located right in front of their small and peaceful village entrance.

A calming smile painted on the man she called Kaname's lips. "Reika, don't worry," He paused. "I will return as soon as I have finished," His eyes could see Reika's watery eyes like a morning dew as she raised her head upwards. "I will marry you as I have promised." His gaze locked into hers, exchanging an unseen power of their strong affections.

"Promise me, that you won't leave me alone, that you will return someday?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course, I promise…" A sense of suspicion reflected in his eyes. "Did you see something… Wrong?" He could felt Reika's body shivered a bit as he said this. For a brief seconds she paused, trying to collect her words to describe her vision.

xXx

It was dark, as if it was going to rain. A gust of cold air soaked into my bones. The wind was still howling loudly. I woke up right in front of the torii gate, an entrance to my village and looked around. What happened? Everything was in ruins, more than a half of them even covered with soil. No, mother, father! I tried to get up and rushed into my house- or ruins of my house. "Ah!" A terrible pain rushed from my ankle to my entire leg. My ankle was swollen, and a huge bruise was painted all over it. I must have tripped when I fell, or something heavy fell on it. I have to hurry, I thought. I tried to crawl and ignore the pain that now have spread to all over my body. Tears started to run down my face as I saw bodies scattered among the ground, half buried in the soil.

My vision started to blur. Everything became dark and I lost my consciousness. I opened my eyes once again. There a woman stood tall in front of me. I noticed four other women too behind her. "Are you ready?" She smiled warmly. Kindness reflected on her face. Who could these women be? I studied her appearance from the head to the toe. All of her raven hair was tied in a bun which was wrapped in a piece of sea-blue cloth. Her kimono top and hakama was in a similar color, but slightly lighter. All the women behind her shared a similar appearance with her, except that the one in front of me wore a large white obi on her waist.

"Yes," I said without any clue of what the woman was talking about. I just felt an urge to say that, as if it was an answer to a question which determined my fate. The four women without obi helped me get up and placed me on a small open palanquin. The stinging pain once again pulsed all over my body. My sight started to blur again as they carried me slowly outside the village. Everything turned monochrome, and all I remember was seeing the top of the torii gate, dangling dangerously as if it will fall upon anyone unlucky.

xXx

She recalled her vision she saw last night. _What should I tell him? _She thought. "I… I see myself alone… Waiting endlessly for you in somewhere I don't know…" _How could I…_ _How could I say this to him… _

Kaname's eyes widened. Her visions had always been accurate, almost as accurate as an old experienced fortune-teller who lived in the village. Yes, he knew about the fact that his lover possessed a strong sixth sense, an ability which had interested, as well as consternated him sometimes in his years of study. But he never expected to hear this from this woman. "Reika, are you sure it's not just an imagination?" he asked curiously.

"I-I'm pretty sure… I saw it quite clearly, and you knew that I'm not that kind who likes daydreaming or exaggerating things…" She replied. Her eyes were casted downwards again.

He scratched his not-itchy forehead, thinking of sentences to say. _Was she lying? _He tried to remember if she ever lied to him before._ I knew her. _He thought. _She wasn't the one who tell lies…_ But still, something in his heart told him. _She didn't tell everything. Yes, she hid something. She knew something I don't know, something burdening her thoughts heavily. Something she couldn't tell anyone… Even myself._

"Kaname?" He heard a familiar woman's voice calling him.

"Ah… Yes, Reika?"

Her usual smile and cheerfulness have come back into her as if nothing has happened. Kaname suddenly felt her warm hand on his, her fingers gripping them tight. "If it is the best for you, then go, I will wait for you, even if it took forever," she said lightly, seemed like she has forgotten everything she said about her vision, while her lover's face still unmoved of surprise, his eyes wide open and his mouth slightly ajar. She chuckled. "You look funny like that!"

"Huh, what? He laughed too as his mind travelled back into his head. He returned his grip to her, holding her arms closely to his chest. "Hear my promise Reika," he smiled. "I, Kaname Ototsuki, promised that I will return to this village, and marry the girl I loved the most, Reika Yukishiro."

She surrounded him with her arms and hugged him. "Thank you Kaname…" she whispered.

"Reika, it's almost dark!" An old woman's voice called, quickly separate them from their hug. Reika's mother, calling loudly from their house which was just one house away from the entrance.

"Coming, mother!" She answered. "Ah… It's my mother, I have to go home. See you later, Kaname," She threw him a smile before turning around and strolled back to her house.

"Bye, Reika!" He smiled too, more likely a smile to himself as Reika had already turned back.

**How do you like the first chapter? Please tell me what do you think. I will update soon as I have time. :D  
>Reviews and constructive critiques are welcome.<strong>


	2. Dillema

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fatal Frame series, it belongs to Tecmo and blablablablabla :)  
>AN: I'm sorry it took me really long time to update. School was trying to kill me D:  
>Thanks Junhei, Golden Mist Fox, and TriciaJeevas for reviewing!<strong>

Summary: The awaited day had finally come, but instead of being excited as when he got the letter, he was becoming more and more unsure. He was faced by two hard choices. What would be his decision?

…

A window was slid open, making the world outside visible to anyone who opened it without being blocked by the paper. It was the night before the awaited day finally begun. A gust of night breeze swept gently, running on his skin. It sent him a bit of chill to his spine sometimes. The man in dark blue kimono was standing alone in his room, peering outside and observing all he could see from the wooden-framed window. The village seemed lifeless at night. Not a single soul was seen. Couple of orange lights, emitted by the paper lanterns hung by the villagers beside their doors danced with the wind, illuminating the two ebony marbles of his eyes was the only sign of living aside from common nocturnal animals' voices which seemed to be the nightly music of the village.

He sighed. His palms took their grips to the frame of the window. Countless stars, which he locked his gaze upon, were sparkling beautifully like diamonds scattered in the sky. They seemed so close somehow. It felt like his soul could jump out and venture in the sky with the stars. The view of the stars has always calmed his mind somehow.

_I still can't believe it. Tomorrow, the day I've waited for so long will come in a few hours, the day that I can finally see Dr. Asou! _Words of his thoughts started to run around his mind. _Year after year I've spent my time studying his thesis and theories, as well as his subjects of interest, and the results are not futile…_

xXx

Three knocks resounded around the room.

"I'm coming!" A woman's voice responded to the knocks and walked her way to the source- a wooden sliding door, the entrance of the house. She was in the kitchen preparing two boxes of bento for her son and her husband who were working in the field at that time, while her daughter was out shopping at the market. The woman then grabbed the wooden knob and slid the door open and found a young man standing outside the door.

"Good morning," he greeted politely while bowing at her. "Is this the Ototsuki residence?" He asked.

The woman nodded. "Yes. How can I help you?" She said while observing the young man's appearance. His ebony hair was shortly cut. He had a small cotton bag attached to him, which the contents seemed to be various books and papers. From his appearance this man clad in dark tosca kimono could be a scholar. _Kaname's friend perhaps? _She thought.

"My name is Satoshi, a friend of Kaname. Teacher sent this letter for him to read." He handed a letter in white envelope. The neatly written address caught her eyes as she scanned it.

"Thank you very much," she replied. "Would you like to come in and have a drink? Kaname will be home in a few minutes I think," she offered.

The man named Satoshi smiled. "Thank you for your kindness, Mrs. Ototsuki, but I'm afraid I must go. My teacher expected me to return."

He then departed from Kaname's house. Satoshi was already several meters away from the house, not realizing that Kaname had just arrived home. From the distance Kaname slowly watching his back as he strolled away, as if he was wondering who the man was while his hands slid the entrance door.

"Mother, I'm home!" he called and stepped into the living room. He usually finished his work at the field by the middle of the day, then he would return home to take his lunch and went to study at the local academy.

"Ah, Kaname, you're home," His mother came to him carrying his bento and the letter Satoshi had given her.

"Mother, did Satoshi come earlier?" He asked curiously. _Was he looking for me? _He thought. _But what for?_

"Oh, Satoshi? Yes, he came just a few moments ago," she handed the letter down for him to read. "Your teacher addressed this to you, he said. Be sure to read it." She said.

Kaname nodded. "Alright mom, I'll read it later," he said.

He didn't have any lesson that day so he wouldn't have to go to the library. Instead, he went back to the fields to help his father. Later that night, he was sitting alone in his room when he read the letter.

xXx

**.**

**.**

_Mr. Kaname Ototsuki  
>Apprentice of Prof. Masao Makimura<em>

_Dear Kaname Ototsuki,_

_As a friend and fellow occult philosopher of Prof. Makimura, I have had the pleasure of knowing great philosophers and folklorist from many regions, including his students who had the potential of becoming great philosophers._

_Before I could continue any further, allow me to introduce myself and the purpose of this letter. My name is Dr. Kunihiko Asou. As you have probably known, I am an occult philosopher who shares same fields of interest with you, Japanese folklore and the spirit world. _

_Spirit World, a mysterious dimension foreign to many, interesting yet feared by mankind. Researches by researches conducted, yet still, mankind had not been able to remove the curtain of mystery of the Spirit World. For an occult philosopher, producing and absolute proof of the existence of the other world is his ambition. For that I am planning to conduct another research regarding to a mysterious sickness affecting psychiatric patients which seems to have connections with the spirits._

_I have been gathering ambitious young scholars like you, for I need your assistance as I could not finish this research alone, and to give chance for you to participate in a real occult research. I have heard of your outstanding skills and your strong dedication to become a great philosopher. You have all the quality required to succeed, you are a worthy candidate._

_The estimated minimum time to complete the research would be eight up to twelve months. I understand that this is not a short period of time, but in closing, I would be pleased and honored if you would consent to provide your assistance for the following researches. _

_Your sincerely,  
>Dr. Kunihiko Asou<em>

**.**

**.**

**xXx**

He recalled the events of the earlier days, when he first got the letter. Once again his eyes read the letter Dr. Asou sent via his teacher to be given to him, carefully scanning through the neat handwriting as if something is going to change. A glimpse of realization suddenly came into his mind.

_Although Dr. Asou never stated exactly how long will the research be, he wrote that eight to twelve months would be the minimum time needed. This made me realize that… Yeah, I should leave that long? I should leave my family, this peaceful and friendly village. I should leave Reika!_

His heart was suddenly filled full of guilt. Reika's beautiful face was all he could imagine. His hesitation strengthened itself beyond his will. Never even once he desired to hurt her fragile heart. Now he could understand how it was like to be in a huge dilemma, a hard choice between his promise and his dream. Should he stay in this village and refuse the offer? For many days he had considered to take this option, but... Studying in the city, to discuss and learn from Dr. Asou and even becoming his apprentice was what he had dreamt in his entire life.

His lover's vision bombarded his mind once more. His curiousity regarding to what she really saw in the vision seemed to get bigger. He was still sure that what she had said couldn't be the whole thing, but what could he do when he has no proof in his hand?

For a moment he was just staring outside, gazing at the stars above, when suddenly a gentle voice of a woman broke the silence.

"Kaname? You're still awake?" The source of the voice asked, instantly making Kaname's head turned towards her. The kind looking middle-aged woman, Kaname's mother was standing at the door. She then headed to Kaname's indigo covered tatami bed and sat at the edge, followed by her son. She smiled knowingly, as if she could read the bewilderment on his face.

"Mother?" He called, waiting for her next words. He felt her hand stroking gently at his shoulder. A sigh escaped from his lips as he directed his gaze down to the wooden floor.

"You're still unsure aren't you?" A little nod was his answer. "Why? You were so excited before… Something happened?" She asked curiously.

For a few seconds he was silent, thinking for a suitable answer. "I… I don't want to leave this family, I will miss all of you so much," he finally answered and paused again. His mother seemed to wait patiently for him to answer. "And I feel bad for Reika, I've broken my promise to her…"

"I think she will understand… Besides, you did say that she would wait for you, right?" He was still silent, not knowing what to say. He couldn't tell about Reika's vision, not even to his own mother. His mother didn't even know that Reika possessed a sixth sense. "Come on, Kaname, you've spent your whole life waiting for this chance. You don't have to worry, you'll come back as soon as you're finished…" She added as her son began to think of her words.

"I guess… You're right…" He nodded. He lifted his eyes to her mother's and smiled. "Thanks mom," he said.

His mother returned his smile. "Now go to sleep, Kaname, it's late you know. You don't want to be late for tommorow do you?"

"Alright mom, he smiled to his beloved mother once again before she headed out of his room.

**.**

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**A cliffhanger? :D  
>I will try to update as soon as possible :)<br>Thanks for reading, reviews please? :3**


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